Local pianist and professor Diane Earle has added another title to her résumé.

After 17 concerts in 11 cities in China, Earle was hired as an American spokesperson for Yangtze River Piano Co. Images of her and her recitals also will be used in the company's advertisements. Earle was uncertain if there are other American spokespersons.

"It's my first endorsement deal, so I'm very honored," she said. "It's an up-and-coming brand in China, and I used it in several concerts there."

Her 18-day tour included stops in Wuxi; school performances in smaller towns; and a return to the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she taught individual lessons and master classes.

Earle was also part of Shenzhen Piano Music Festival, the longest piano recital in the Guinness Book of World Records. A chain of more than 100 international pianists played nonstop for a month in a mall in Shenzhen, China.

But Earle's summer travels weren't over.

She headed to Rome to play an all-Brahms program at the Villa Torlonia, a former summer palace of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, on Sunday; and an all-Gershwin program at the Teatro di Marcello, an amphitheater, Monday. She was invited back to those places after acclaimed performances last summer.

"It's always very exciting and humbling to know they enjoyed my recitals," she said.

Earle is an artist-in-residence and professor of music at Kentucky Wesleyan College, music director at Settle Memorial United Methodist Church and director of the Owensboro Symphony Chorus.